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aqa_biology_inheritance_variation_evolution_graspit_gcse_answers
aqa_biology_inheritance_variation_evolution_graspit_gcse_answers
A. Reproduction part 1 – Sexual and asexual reproduction, meiosis, DNA and the genome
and DNA structure
1. a) Strawberry plants can reproduce sexually or asexually. Describe two disadvantages to a
commercial strawberry grower of restricting the plants to reproduce asexually. (2)
All plants are genetically identical and so a new pathogen may wipe out the whole population
b) Describe the stages involved in making pollen in the anthers of a strawberry plant. (4)
c) The mass of DNA in the nucleus of a pollen cell is 0.25micrograms (µg). (4)
i) What will the mass of DNA be inside the nucleus of an unfertilised egg cell? 0.25 µg
ii) What will the mass of DNA be inside a fertilised cell nucleus? 0.5µg
iii) What will the mass of DNA be inside the nucleus of an anther cell in grams?
iv) What will the mass of DNA be in an anther cell nucleus prior to cell division? 1 µg or 0.000001g
2. After the sperm and the egg nuclei fuse, the fertilised egg is known as a zygote. The single cell of the
zygote divides every 15 hours to form two cells. These cells continue to divide every 15 hours to
from a ball of cells known as the embryo.
Calculate how long it will take in hours from fertilisation to the formation of a ball of 32 cells. (1)
3. a) Suggest two ways in which the Human Genome Project (HGP) may improve the medical care for
the future. (2)
b) Suggest two ways in which the HGP may have a negative effect on people. (2)
It could be used to refuse insurance cover for individuals who possess certain genotypes
It could make it more difficult to find employment if a potential employer is aware of an
employee’s genotype
Knowing that something may occur may increase peoples stress
May feel under pressure not to have children or terminate pregnancies
Ethical concerns regarding ownership of data and right to access it
Lead to more people wanting gene therapy and increased cost to NHS
4. a) Why do most organisms have even numbers of chromosomes in their body cells? (2)
Chromosomes are in pairs
Inherited one from each parent
One chromosome of each pair is found in each gamete
Gametes have an odd number of chromosomes so after fertilisation the fertilised cell has an even
number.
Aphids have specialised mouth parts to feed on the sap from the phloem in a plant.
A daughter bulb grows from a bud at the base of a parent bulb. This
will generate a new plant.
Indicative content
Relies on insects to transfer the pollen from one plant to another via insects
No variation
Disease may affect all the plants in a population as they are all genetically identical
4
. .
d) Explain how their offspring 9 and 10 have inherited hitch hiker thumbs yet 8 and 11 have not.
Complete the Punnett square diagram to show the possible offspring if 3 and 4 mated. (6)
Person 4
t t
T Tt Tt
Person 3
t tt tt
The Punnett square shows there is a 1 in 2 (50:50 or 50%) possibility of parents 3 and 4 having
a child with hitch hikers thumb or having normal thumbs.
In the family tree this is what occurred.
e) Mary has a genetic condition called cystic fibrosis which is a disorder of cell membranes. She and her
husband John want to have children in the future. John is healthy but he does not want to know his
genotype. Explain why it would be helpful for John’s genotype to be known. (3)
Cystic fibrosis is caused by inheritance of a recessive allele from both parents. (1)
2. a) What happens to the chromosomes in the nucleus of an ovary cell when it forms egg cells? (3)
Chromosomes duplicate/double/copied
And separate into four sets/ divide twice
Number halved in the egg cell compared to the ovary cell
3. a) Complete the diagram of a DNA molecule by adding in the correct complementary bases. (3)
3 marks for all correct
2 marks for 1 error only
1 mark for 2 errors
0 marks for more than 2 errors.
G A A G C T A C G T
C T T C G A T G C A
b) Annotate the diagram of the DNA polymer below with the following 4 labels: (4)
A gardener uses some of the tubers for food and some to produce sweet potato plants.
The gardener plants the tubers in different parts of the garden. She noticed that the plants did not
all grow to become the same height despite having the same genome. Suggest two reasons why this
has happened. (2)
Environmental variation
25m
35m 300mm
300mm = 0.3m
b) What is the simplest ratio of height between the plantation tree and the field tree? (2)
35:25 simplified
35/5 = 7
25/5 = 5
Ratio is 7:5
Environmental
d) If the Bonsai tree was planted outside in a field would it grow larger? Explain your answer (2)
Yes
3. Organ donation in the UK still falls below the number of people who are placed on the transplant list.
1300 people died last year before they can receive a transplant. The table shows the list of people
waiting for a transplant.
a) What proportion of people waiting for a transplant in October 2017 are under the age of 18? (2)
162/6462 (1)
0.025 or 2.5 %( 1)
b) Calculate how many of the people waiting for a transplant need a new liver in October 2017 as a
percentage. (2) 469/6462 x100 (1)
The graph shows the number of kidney transplants which have been carried out in 2016/17 and
2017/18 so far using organs donated from people who have died.
Information from
www.organdonation.nhs.uk
c) Suggest two conclusions which could be made from the data in the graph and the previous table.
(2)
More kidney transplants have been carried out in 2017/18 so far than for the same time period
last year.
More people have died whose organs were suitable for donation in the current year so far.
The majority of people who need a transplant do not get one in a year.
d) Research scientists want to genetically engineer organs in pigs which would not be rejected by
humans. Suggest how they could do this. (3)
Transfer the gene into the cells of the pig (gamete or embryo)
Suggest two benefits and two objections to this type of research. (4)
Pros:
Reduces shortage of suitable organs.
Helps to save human life that could be saved if there were sufficient organs donated.
Health costs will be reduced as more people will benefit and need less expensive
treatment.
Cons:
Unsure of the consequences of using another mammal’s organs inside humans.
People may consider it unethical to put pig’s organs into a human.
Moral objections to killing a pig to harvest its organs to benefit humans.
May consider it against their religious beliefs.
4. The photographs show a wild pig and a modern day pig known as the Large White.
The Large White is a descendant of the wild pig and has been produced by selective breeding. It is
renowned for bacon production. The photographs are scaled to show the relative sizes.
a) Suggest two features you can see in the photograph that farmers selected for when breeding the
Large White. (2)
No tusks
Colour of skin
Not much hair
Lots of meat/size
b) Explain how a farmer could use selective breeding to breed pigs which are very docile in nature.
(3)
Carry this on for many generations until all the pigs in the herd are docile.
© Copyright The PiXL Club Ltd, 2017
AQA GCSE Inheritance, variation and evolution GraspIT - Answers
5. Explain how the human insulin gene and plasmids can be used to genetically modify bacteria. (4)
Enzymes are used to isolate the human insulin gene from human DNA
The bacterial plasmid is cut open
The gene is inserted into the bacterial plasmid
The plasmid with the inserted gene is placed into the bacterial cell
6. Mutations occur continuously and on rare occasions some mutations result in an altered protein with
a different shape being produced.
The mutation which results in cystic fibrosis results in bases being deleted.
ATCATCTTTGGTGTT
ATCATTGGTGTT
In people without cystic fibrosis, the protein made functions as a channel across the membranes of
cells which produce mucus. Chloride ions pass in and out of cells through this channel and aid the
movement of water which is required to produce thin freely flowing mucus. This protein channel
does not function in cystic fibrosis due to the changed shape of the protein produced.
Explain how this mutation would result in an altered protein being made which does not fold
properly and so does not function. (6)
Indicative content
The order of the bases controls the order in which amino acids are assembled to produce a particular
protein
A differently shaped protein will not form the channel needed to make thin mucus
7. Cacti are normally found in arid habitats where water is scarce and day temperatures are high.
a) Use Lamarck’s theory of natural selection to explain how the cacti roots evolved (2)
b) Explain Darwin’s theory of natural selection to explain how longer roots evolved (4)
c) Suggest two reasons why scientists in the 1800s could not decide if Lamarck or Darwin was
correct. (2)
d) The general public in the 1800s had a different idea which explained how all life on Earth came
about. What was this idea? (1)
e) Describe three reasons why Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection has now been
widely accepted by everyone. (3)
Mechanism of inheritance now understood – characteristics are passed onto offspring in genes
8. The lake in the picture was home to a large population of fish of the same species. Over a long period
of time, the lake reduced in size and formed two smaller lakes.
In the winter of 2013 there was a lot of rainfall and the two lakes merged back into one.
Fishermen noticed that there seemed to be two different phenotypes of fish in the lake. Scientists
found that two new species had been formed.
Because the two populations were not interbreeding the new alleles resulting from mutations
were not being mixed.
There would be environmental differences in the two lakes over time which can cause variation
When the two lakes formed one lake again the two fish were so genetically different they could
not breed and produce fertile offspring
9. Rubbish-filled ditch beside roadside burger van named as one of UK’s 10 most important
wildlife sites. Daily Mail.co.uk Feb 1, 2011.
According to Natural England this is the only place in the country where self
seeded Fen Ragwort grows. It was thought to have become extinct in the
Victorian era.
Indicative content
Cuttings (1)
Benefits of tissue culture: uses small groups of cells from the plant
Many new genetically identical plants can be grown from a few cells
Disadvantages:
Benefits of cuttings:
Disadvantages:
Need to take a large amount of the plant to produce a small amount of cuttings
Humans – hunting
Change of climate
Change in habitat
Animal dies
Covered with sediment and then minerals replace the bone forming a fossil
2. a) Both of the birds in the photograph are known as robins. Suggest two reasons why this could be a
problem. (2)
Genus
Species
Some organisms have very similar features that are common to more than 1 species/group
Carl Woese identified three distinct groups of organisms he called domains: Archaea, Bacteria
and Eukaryota.
Number of protein 10 5 12
molecules in RNA
polymerase
Cell membrane Branched hydrocarbon Unbranched fatty acid Unbranched fatty acid
chains attached to chains attached to chains attached to
glycerol by ether bonds glycerol by ester bonds glycerol by ester bonds
d) Using the information in the table, give evidence that agrees with Carl Woese’s theory that
archaea should be grouped separately to bacteria and eukaryota. (2)
Archaea has a different arrangement of molecules in its cell membrane to bacteria and
eukaryota.
e) Woese put forward this simple evolutionary tree to show the relationships between the three
domains. What has happened at points A and B on the diagram? (2)
f) Which two domains are most closely related according to Woese? (1)
Archaea and Eukaryota (1)